Red Sox Beat: Twelfth night for Sizemore, Sox

Tuesday

May 6, 2014 at 11:38 PMMay 7, 2014 at 12:18 AM

After blowing a late two-run lead to the visiting Reds, at Fenway Park for just the second time since winning Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, the Red Sox walked off with a 4-3 win in the 12th inning when Grady Sizemore delivered a single off the base of the Green Monster to drive in David Ortiz with the winning run.

By Eric AvidonDaily News staff

BOSTON — The Red Sox won in dramatic fashion Tuesday night, but it was a finish that shouldn't have been.

After blowing a late two-run lead to the visiting Reds, at Fenway Park for just the second time since winning Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, Boston walked off with a 4-3 win in the 12th inning when Grady Sizemore, back in baseball this season after sitting out the last two with knee injuries, delivered a single off the base of the Green Monster to drive in David Ortiz with the winning run.

But had starter Felix Doubront been able to last more than a mere 5 1/3 innings on a night when at times he was in complete control of the Cincinnati lineup, had reliever Junichi Tazawa not surrendered a pair of runs in the eighth inning, and had the Red Sox' lineup come through on just one of its many missed opportunities the dramatics may never have been necessary.

“I never get tired of walk-offs,” said Sizemore, who was mobbed by his teammates near second base after delivering the game-winning hit. “It was fun, an exciting moment, and I was just glad I could come through.”

Ortiz led off the 12th with a single to center field through the Cincinnati shift. Mike Napoli then snuck a ground ball up the middle to put runners on first and second for Sizemore, who smoked an offering from Logan Ondrusek (0-2).

“Every first that (Sizemore) goes through this year, first being since he was an everyday player, I have to believe that he’s feeling like the game is coming back to him in a way and he’s doing things that he hasn’t done for quite a while,” said manager John Farrell. “To walk things off, I have to believe gives him even further feeling that he’s contributing here.”

The game only got to the 12th inning because of what went down in the eighth.

With the Red Sox leading 3-1 and Tazawa the second reliever to work after Doubront failed to pitch even six innings despite giving up just the lone run, the Reds pulled even.

Joey Votto drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a double by Brandon Phillips, and scored on Todd Frazier's single. Phillips then scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Ludwick.

Boston had taken its lead in the third inning.

With the score tied 1-1, Jackie Bradley Jr. walked to lead off, moved to third on a double by Dustin Pedroia, and after Ortiz was intentionally walked to load the bases, scored on a walk by Napoli. Sizemore followed with a single to drive in Pedroia, but Xander Bogaerts popped up and A.J. Pierzynski hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Doubront was able to make the 3-1 lead hold up, but left the bullpen simply too much work to do.

He's a tantalizing 26-year-old talent with a fastball that clocks in the low 90s, has a cutter in the high 80s that bites, his changeup is a good 8-10 miles per hour slower than his fastball, he's got a solid curveball, and bless his heart, he's left-handed.

And after improving from 2012 when he first became a regular in the Red Sox rotation to 2013, then pitching brilliantly out of the bullpen in the postseason, he seemed poised to make a leap.

But instead of blossoming, he's struggled, entering Tuesday with a 5.70 earned run average after merely being a tease in past seasons, able to stymie lineups on some nights while being cuffed around on others.

He showed what's made him frustrating all in one game on Tuesday night, when he alternated good innings and bad ones.

He faced nine batters and threw a total of 36 pitches in the first, third, and fifth. But he needed 61 pitches to maneuver through the second — when he walked the leadoff hitter and gave back the 1-0 lead he'd been given the previous half inning — fourth, and three batters in the sixth, when he was yanked after walking Ludwick on four pitches.

Ultimately, he gave up one run on five hits, struck out three and walked three while not making it out of the sixth inning.

“I couldn’t go more because of those ... walks,” said Doubront. “I have to throw first-pitch strikes.”

While Doubront was frustrating in his inefficiency, so were the Red Sox hitters.

They scored in the bottom of the first when Napoli drove in Pedroia with a check-swing groundout, but Boston could have had plenty more against Homer Bailey after Pedroia led off with a walk and Shane Victorino singled.

Two innings later the Red Sox added the two runs that looked like they might hold up until Tazawa entered, but with the bases loaded and one out they had the opportunity for a lot more and couldn't cash in.

Ortiz led off the fifth with a double and Napoli walked, but the next three batters were retired. Sizemore led off the eighth with a single but was erased on a fielder's choice, and the Red Sox had runners on first and third in the ninth before Napoli grounded out.

Finally, in the 12th — thanks largely to superb relief work from Burke Badenhop, Koji Uehara, Andrew Miller, and Craig Breslow (1-0) — they came through, winning a game that never should have gotten that far.

Eric Avidon can be reached at 508-626-3809 or eavidon@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericavidon.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.